From aluminium smelting waste to cement

Lafarge Canada, Geocycle Canada and Rio Tinto have teamed up to reuse waste from the aluminium smelting process to produce cement.

The three companies have developed a new product called Alextra, made from used potlining, as part of the aluminium electrolysis process that would otherwise go to landfill. Lafarge says it plans to produce one million tonnes of cement per year at its plant in the Ontario region using Alextra as an alternative to raw materials such as alumina and silica.

Additionally, the project partners will explore options to further expand the supply of Alextra from Rio Tinto’s Potlining Treatment Plant in Quebec to Lafarge network of cement plants.

‘This collaboration shows how Rio Tinto is innovating to find new ways to reuse waste, generating value from our operations and reducing their environmental footprint,’ says Rio Tinto Aluminium manager valorisation and marketing Stéphane Poirier.

Worth watching: